Ted Hawthorn 2025

Without Objective Perception

6315 words | 48mins

Introduction

Tracing the hidden history of subcultural modernism, one quickly notices that this diagrammatic family tree, this genealogical chart of movements and tendencies, resembles a true city map - and the only way to study this history is to walk. To drift is to study, to study is to drift. (Experimental Jetset, 2022)

I have always felt a draw to the city. It presents endless opportunities and is complete with historical landmarks and cultural significances. However, the structure of the city must go beyond this perception. Branching out from the representation of the Oxford Streets and Times Squares of the world, the landscape of the less familiar urban environment becomes more challenging to navigate and comprehend.

In this essay, I plan to explore how various philosophical concepts and sociological studies can enhance the personal relationship with the city. Through the observation and documentation of social behaviour, I want to identify what it means to interact with urban space, and how to reflect its identity through means of simply existing. I want to highlight modes of interpretation and how they can be translated into visual forms - again drawing from philosophical theories, whilst comparing and expanding on their influence on my design enquiry and process.

Section 1

1.1 the city

1.1.1 the 'facts'

The city is a platform for virtually everything that happens in the modern world. The ever-increasing process of urbanisation could once be thought of as another form of migration - and still can - but nowadays is arguably a socially autonomous course of life. There is reason for the attractions of the city, the pull of the urban environment is, to most, irresistible. For example, as of 2018 the population of London is 8.9 million, yet only 25-32% of the inhabitants were born locally (Centre for London, 2018). Statistics such as this only add to the overwhelm of the city, that the influx show no respite. The individual matters very little, but the accumulation of individuals is the foundation on which the city is built - the accommodation of a society which is continuously growing.

1.1.2 the desirable feeling of drowning

The ease of a social fall-behind can influence how the city is perceived and understood. An extract from the Charta of Neurourbanism states "city dwellers are exposed to high levels of social stress, for example, when the experience of the city's density and bustle becomes a constant strain, or when the anonymity of city life creates feelings of loneliness" (Charta of Neurourbanism, 2024) - a neglection of what brought the individual there in the first place. Social situations can also be impacted by the architectural structure of the city. In feeling lost socially, the sense of loneliness can be reflected by the dense framework of the environment. From street level, the feeling of drowning is enhanced by the sheer size and unrelenting, repetitive structure of high-rise buildings.

1.1.3 intrinsic habits

There is an endlessness in the city. It would be impossible to imagine knowing everything there is to know about it, let alone actually doing so. The constant change of currents results in an adaptational way of life, learning new modes of movement caused by exterior happenings - from local roadworks to city-wide disruptions on railway systems, the variables make it hard to keep a solid grasp on the environment. Born out of this, though, is a formation of habit. The habits can be shared and seen in multiple people's day-to-day, but ultimately there are specific characteristics that are solely constructed by the individual. Through the development of habitual processes comes routine. Routine movement through a city can again be viewed individually or socially but, for the most part, the motive remains the same: efficiency of a journey. Going back to what has been discussed previously the city can pose a peculiar loneliness although densely packed full of people. However, it is through the routine of knowing your personal space, your area and surroundings, that you can counteract the sense of being lost and provide a feeling of belonging. Constant repetition of the same action and motion of navigating your environment emphasises the relationship you might have with the place - resulting in a comfort that humbly presents itself.

1.2 situationists and psychogeography

1.2.1 golden age

In the mid 20th century, a time post-Bauhaus, Dada and Surrealism, a new generation of painters and poets emerged, formulated out of criticism of past avant-gardes. A culmination of politically aggressive creative movements from across western Europe, resulted in a collective named the Situationist International (SI). One of the founding groups of the SI was a Parisian experimental movement called the Letterists, headed by filmmaker Guy Debord - who would go on to become the movement's leading figure (Tate, 2017)

1.2.2 psycho-where?

One of the main practices of the Situationist International is psychogeography, which describes the effect of a geographical location on the emotions and behaviour of individuals - similar to the idea of neurourbanism as formerly mentioned, yet accessed in a more abstract and theoretical way. The Situationists would prove their theory of psychogeography through the process of dérive (meaning to drift), dropping all motives for movement and action and aimlessly wandering through the environment - being drawn in or repelled by the attractions of the urban terrain and the encounters that might present themselves there. It's hard to think of these ideologies as visual works, but an iconic representation of such is Debord's The Naked City (1957). The work was essentially the first psychogeographic map, consisting of scattered cut-outs from a map of Paris. A subjective piece of cartography that negates traditional modes of wayfinding and objected against geographical representation, it also acted as a diagram for dérive, suggesting new ways of navigating and understanding the city.

Figure 1: The Naked City (Debord, 1957)

1.2.3 big French words

In a way, the Situationists lent themselves to the city and in return, the city lent itself to them. Amsterdam-based design collective Experimental Jetset describes the relationship between the city and the SI as a dialogue. They say, "within the Situationist mindset, the city was meant to be treated as language […] the urban environment was to be read, analysed (and criticised) as a text, as a piece of prose or poetry" (Experimental Jetset, 2021, p. 18). This description has strong metaphorical context behind it, but the graphic language of the city could also be used as a reference to read the city. There was a specific point of interest with the diagrammatic language of subway maps, leading Debord and other SI members to alter their visuality and give new meaning. They would identify this process as détournement, a method of visual appropriation. These practices of the SI led to a conceptual understanding of the urban environment. A sense of personal ownership over a place prevails through the criticism of the infrastructure that is already in place - almost as if you make the environment what you want it to be, where you want it to be and how it should be existed within.

1.3 Structuralist and Post-Structuralist perceptions

1.3.1 beyond objective

The very idea that the city is to be perceived as language allows for it to be taken hold of and modified to support a more conceptual understanding of the urban environment. It is a development of structuralist perception that fuses the general predefined understanding of a place with inherent bias that is entirely subjective. In Structuralism and Semiotics, the author says, "A wholly objective perception of individual entities is therefore not possible: any observer is bound to create something of what he observes. Accordingly, the relationship between the observer and observed achieves a kind of primacy" (Hawkes, 1977, pp. 6-7). It is clear that the general context of the text speaks of the whole world, but the framework which is constructed only needs to be extracted and placed into a new context; a series of situations, circumstances and environments, strictly associated to one individual and their relationship with the city. The structure is manufactured by the person.

1.3.2 interpretation, interpretation & interpretation

It could be said that the structure of the city is there to be taken ownership of -rather than one dominating factor, the ownership comes from each inhabitant or, to some extent, each visitor. The way in which one reacts to the city and the relationship that is built influences the characteristics, lending itself to the idea of being owned. Building on this, the concept of post-structuralism becomes present, not negating the previous methodology of understanding the city, but widening the perspective - allowing for endless interpretation. One could argue here that as opposed to the highlighting of the positive affirmations involved in the personal relationship with the city, the understanding is gained through everything but the primary effective factor. It is through the magnitude of social interactions, navigational differences and other means of existing in the city, that an interpretation is built. Interpretation of the place as a whole, formulated by the interpretation of its individual aspects.

1.4 Stefan Hertmans: Intercities

1.4.1 Trieste: an account

As part of a series of books on topographies, Stefan Hertmans' Intercities hones in on the identity of cities and the inhabitants' role in sustaining that identity - specifically in bordering areas between countries. For the purpose of this essay, I will solely be focussing on chapter four of the book: Trieste: Lonely In-Between. Hertmans writes in an interesting way, pertaining to an honest and informal overview. Throughout the chapter, and much of the rest of the book, he documents his solitary experiences in a series of accounts to keep the encounters as pure and objective as possible. Instantly this poses an awkward sense as such awareness feels scientific and wholly objective yet written about in an almost story-telling manner. Initially, the general overview of the city is described in a juxtaposing language, keeping the interpretation loose for the reader. An example of this is when Hertmans writes "Isolation - the sense of being somewhere on the edge of Europe, though you are unmistakably also in an abandoned centre: mild, reassuring isolation such as you can only find in somewhat forgotten border areas" (Hertmans, 2001, p. 41). Given the location of Trieste - and other border cities alike - there is an ever-present struggle for a distinctive identity. It's clear that there is a consciousness of a broader landscape being the rest of Italy, but what interferes with this is the influence of differing cultures coming from surrounding countries.

1.4.2 Trieste: history(ish)

Investigating the route of the conflicting identities requires a historical deep dive into the politics around fighting for ownership pre and amidst World War II, followed by a post-war abandonment, leaving the city a free zone supervised by the British and Americans. More recently, Trieste had been threatened by Serbian domination. A mass of political, and genuine warfare leaves the city in a vulnerable position. On this, Hertmans states "because of its location, Trieste has a subtle blend of the alien and the familiar" (Hertmans, 2001, p. 42). It is evident again here that the writer uses juxtaposing language to keep an open sense of identity - that he feels there is identity in the lack thereof.

1.4.3 Trieste: the old and the young

Later on in the chapter, there is the first description of the social behaviour and characteristics. In another informal recount, Hertmans talks about the daily routine of the average Triestino. The casualness of the writing style adds a strong familiarity of the documentation. A section of the account reads "A real Triestino sits chattering in a crowded and noisy bar with his espresso, but in the afternoon you see him lost in himself, with a mixture of scepticism and contentment" (Hertmans, 2001, p. 42). The observation of place in this example comes through the observation of the societal culture. This extract links to the overview of the 'isolated' city, where the inhabitants take the openness of it and bring it into the heart of the area. One could argue that isolation can be categorised and identified in various forms - almost taking shape of differing genres, represented by the culture of social groups and their behaviour. In the previous example, the age of the Triestino is never directly clarified but the prevailing interpretation is older - the information given is somewhat stereotypical of a more senior Italian man. Thinking in this way could give a more idyllic sense to the description: calm, low-key lifestyle, spent drinking coffee and thriving in a contentedly repetitive, slower-paced environment. It paints the scene of isolation in a desirable way. Opposing this representation comes when a broader scope of the mixed cultural influences presents itself, from an Orthodox Russian church to Slovenian fruit and vegetables marketed on the waterfront. Hertmans then writes "This colourful exoticism of another Europe gives one the feeling that Trieste is after all closer to Vienna than Rome. Consequently it should not surprise one that the slogan 'Lega Nord' crops up now and then in graffiti" (Hertmans, 2001, p.43). This social observation is more about the behaviour of locals as opposed to a routine account of encounter. The use of graffiti - especially when the writing is primarily political - gives a feeling of desperation. As well as this, and again somewhat stereotypically, it alludes to a youthful anarchical expression. This puts the extract in a separate category of social behaviour, a less relaxed and more politically charged group of young people defending the city - with its public visuality potentially altering the perception of Trieste for the visitor.

1.4.4 Trieste: stubbornness

There is a desperation in how the demography of Trieste understands its city, yet I think it's hard to grasp any understanding of identification after its historical fight for ownership. Later in the chapter, Hertmans references Claudio Magris saying "an identity is born that expresses itself mainly through the negation of a traditional identity. From then on, Trieste knows mainly what it does not want to be, what it no longer is, what it is not yet" (Hertmans, 2001, p. 48). This suggests a comfort in its undefined space, intentionally being identified as such. Hertmans continues with "If, for example, an Italian from Milan or Rome comes too close, then the inhabitant of Trieste appeals to his links with the peoples of Istria - that is, Croatians and Slovenians. But confronted with any Slovenian or Croatian, he manifests himself as someone who is linked with Rome or Milan" (Hertmans, 2001, p. 48). This point is of course a generalisation of the average local but pushes the idea of the intentionally unidentified area. It has a duality of individuality that, through the negation of identity, births a new urban existence: one concerned with only that of being individual. A place so unique that the people who live there are totally separate not only from surrounding cities or countries, but from the entire world - creating mindset that, to some degree, is wholly admirable.

1.4.5 Trieste: tourist &/or local

After much observational and documentational writing, Hertmans switches the narrative slightly, putting himself directly into the environment as if he were living in the city as opposed to visiting for the purpose of writing about it. He says, "I get a little drunk in a restaurant smelling of drainpipes, fiddle around with a sketch in a notebook, and a little later am standing on the quay smoking a cigarette" (Hertmans, 2001, p. 45). If anything, this passage gives a calming reassurance which emulates the nonchalance of the prior description of the average Triestino's morning and afternoon usual happenings. The same sort of structure is evident in its simplicity, giving a strong psychogeographical resemblance in the effortless contentment, emphasised by the solitude. This then proves that the individual interpretation of a place, and the reaction to it, makes up the personal geography and landscape. Further adding to this, Hertmans says "the following day, I wandered aimlessly through the city" (Hertmans, 2001, p. 50), giving an overtly obvious reference to the situationist concept of dérive - utilising it as means to informally explore the area. A novel-like depiction that leaves the interpretation of Trieste with a positive affiliation.

1.5 Guy Debord: Society of the Spectacle

1.5.1 commodity (?) fetishism (?)

Guy Debord is one of the founding and most influential members of the Situationist International. His 1967 book Society of the Spectacle is a breakdown of the Marxist theory of commodity fetishism - in that people understand objects for solely their function and value, as opposed to the recognition of their production labour. Debord builds on his interpretation of this, that items are no longer identified as the things themselves, but as the representation of their identity. A post-structuralist mindset that criticises the objective nature of language and text - allowing them to be interpreted in a variety of ways, as opposed to the singular meaning and the direct situation in which the text sits. To put it another way, I will use two quotations from Umberto Eco's book The Limits of Interpretation:

"What does the fish remind you of?"
"Other fish"
"And what do other fish remind you of?"
"Other fish"
(Joseph Heller, Catch 22, New York, Simon and Schuster, 1961, p. 290)

Hamlet: Do you see yonder cloud that's almost in shape of a camel?
Polonius: By th' mass, and 'tis like a camel indeed.
Hamlet: Methinks it is like a weasel.
Polonius: It is back'd like a weasel.
Hamlet: Or like a whale?
Polonius: Very like a whale.
(Hamlet III.2)

1.5.2 non-language as language

To step away slightly from dense philosophy and challenging theoretical concepts, the spectacle can be viewed as a language itself. Debord writes "the specialisation of images of the world evolves into a world of autonomised images", continued with "the spectacle is a concrete inversion of life, an autonomous movement of the non-living" (Debord, 1967, p. 24). Essentially the objects of everyday life, that construct our individual world around us, only need to serve as images. Things become depictions of the things themselves, practically making them immortal in their interpretation. You could argue there is no value in the objects - the images, serving as representations, are the value; the value that will not, and can never die. To contextualise this idea further, Debord says "the language of the spectacle consists of signs of the dominant system of production - signs which are at the same time the ultimate end-products of that system" (Debord, 1967, p. 25). Images and representations are served in a specific way through the spectacle and its own language of signs. Such language becomes more important than the thing itself, or rather simply becomes the thing itself.

1.5.3 is it what it is?

This language is intrinsic in social life yet is always out of reach. Something that Debord mentions frequently is the appearance of the spectacle - taking it out of the context of images and language and putting it into the social situation. This idea is still relevant today, and I believe always will be with the ever-growing market for advertisement and commercialisation. Debord states "its [the spectacle] sole message is: what appears is good; what is good appears" (Debord, 1967, p.26). Such a statement is so loose in its interpretation but viewed so generally, society will only take it in a positive way. It feels to me a little bit like the (more modern) phrase 'it is what it is', where the whole intention of the saying is to be content with any situation or circumstance that would require one to say it - usually bad. It is utterly surface level, and means absolutely nothing. In the time between these two example phrases, the acceptance of imposing ideologies which are watered down by tautological quotes has risen to a point where society is becoming habitually passive.

1.5.4 passive acceptance

As a final reference to the spectacle, I want to highlight where Debord writes "the character of the spectacle stems from the fact that its means and ends are identical. It is the sun that never sets over the empire of modern passivity. It covers the entire surface of the globe endlessly basking in its own glory" (Debord, 1967, p. 27). I thought of this as an important quote to end this section on as the metaphorical language in itself can spread its interpretation and be transferred to multiple examples. The spectacle - and the commodities that come with it - can be thought about in much the same way as the city. A passive acceptance of its constant change that seemingly the majority of its inhabitants haven't a say in, as it becomes ever-more autonomous. However, with its passivity, there is still a social need and desire to be in and amongst it as the commodities feed them as it were.

1.6 William H. Whyte: City Spaces, Human Places

1.6.1 person watching

William H. Whyte's New York City based documentary City Spaces, Human Places acts as an extension from his book The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces, both published in 1980 after the launch of The Street Life Project in 1969 (Project for Public Spaces, 2010). For the purpose of this essay, I will solely focus on the film; its visual and audible deconstruction gives a clear and in-depth description of Whyte's social findings. It is essentially a sociological showcase, and as such, much of the shots are rather uncomfortable - being that they hold tight angles on people simply existing, unbeknownst to the fact their actions and behavioural habits are under close examination.

1.6.2 people watching

In order to give a broader overview and oppose the close-up observation, Whyte utilises the landscape of the city, shooting from the rooftops of various skyscrapers. This birds-eye view poses an awkward duality alongside other perspectives as the narrative switches from the intense tone of the individual to a generalisation of city livers. From eye-level, each person or small group is introduced almost as characters, being described by assumptions of their ongoings. From above however, Whyte talks about the social constructs as if they are movable objects forming part of the architecture, and that their movement is reflected by the urban space. Here he uses the term "choreography" (City Spaces, Human Places, 1980) which, in a way, dehumanises the people below and creates a sense of herd mentality (for lack of a better phrase).

1.6.3 take a seat (if there's space)

Drawing on this, Whyte begins to narrow in on the use of plazas and other recreational environments built into the cityscape. These spaces are the primary object of attention in the film, but the concern with getting them right - as to fulfil the basic human desires of urban living - is broken down to a scientific degree. A large portion of this highlights sittable areas and the lack thereof. Whyte argues the physical objects available for seating need to be rethought, proposing an increase in their dimensions as "not to double the number of sitters, but to give them more choice" (1980). He continues with "very important for their perception of crowding, or not crowding" (1980), suggesting that an objective analysis of space can interact with the social interpretation of individuals. In doing so, it gives people an "instinctive feel for a number [of people] that is right for a place - a number that is right overall. That is its effective capacity" (1980). Again, this reinforces the idea that data and statistics, once put into practice, can influence social etiquette and formulate a consistent behavioural structure. Yet, this structure is untold, almost being subconsciously born into the community - creating an autonomous flow of social navigation.

Section 2

2.1 abstract navigation

2.1.1 redefining terms

Abstract navigation is used in video game development and Artificial Intelligence (AI) and is essentially a data structure that defines a path between two or more objects in a larger space - It works like a polygon surface that can be used (Catness Game Studios, 2023). As (I very much hope) you can tell, this has got absolutely nothing to do with my subject of enquiry. In fact, I naively thought I had come up with the term, that is until I extended my research, finding AI had once again interfered with my creative process. As an attempt to best describe my redefinition of abstract navigation, I will use Henri Matisse's painting Dance, created in 1910 (Artland, no date) as a primary reference.

Figure 2: Dance (Matisse, 1920)

Much like AI and game development, this essay is not about modern art and the Fauvist movement. The reason I highlight this painting, however, is that it directs the eye around the image through its composition and figurative style. In some ways, every component is fairly basic, the vibrant colours exude joyous emotions, but it is their simple use that gets the most out of the image. The figures are imbalanced and appear to bunch up on the right side of the canvas, causing the subject in the central foreground to stretch out, reaching for the hand on the left. The space that is left vacant is inviting, and the slight gap between the two hands creates a desire to be involved in the action of the painting. A culmination of elements of which the image is formed: colour, composition and movement, create the ideal scene for our eyes to trace and navigate through. By merely looking at the painting, the eyes have navigated the situation, becoming involved and gaining a new understanding of what is being seen - that is abstract navigation, my abstract navigation.

2.2 Who owns what

2.2.1 real or 'real'

It is interesting to think about a world without objective perception. At what point do we accept things as facts, or will every entity exist only to be questioned? I believe there is a combination of objective truth and subjective bias, where fact and interpretation begin to weave and convolute.

2.2.2 in the way of text

When applying these notions specifically to text, a fundamental element presents itself: the author. Of course, scientific papers or mathematical proofs exist, and exist solely to be viewed objectively, however, the writer of said texts could "lend their name to it, but could never claim authorship over it" (Rock, 1996, p.1). On the other hand, the subjective nature of literature demands authorship. Even if a piece of writing isn't necessarily personal or creative - or well-written for that matter - decisions still have to be made within its production. In his 1967 essay The Death of the Author, Roland Barthes says "the image of literature to be found in contemporary culture is tyrannically centred on the author, his person, his history, his tastes, his passions" (Barthes, 1967, pp. 1-2), adding to the point that with authorship comes bias. Essentially no written account could ever do justice to the event of which it describes - the individual depiction within one's own mind is the only true reality.

2.2.3 not about where you end up

Thinking back to the structure of the city, there is a wealth of directional visual material. The scientific accuracy of maps and other forms of wayfinding design is never doubted - they are universally understood as objective fact. The formulation of maps, however, cannot be authored. Much the same as scientific texts, the subject matter is pre-existent and so cannot be owned. This lack of authorship - within the city - leaves a vacancy for a somewhat personal ownership. Through the adoption of the Situationist mindset and exploring the concept of dérive (1.2.2), aimlessly drifting though the urban environment builds an entirely subjective representation of that area. In this case, the individual perception of place is then transferred to the navigation of such space provoking a continuous development of knowledge. In essence, one's understanding of the environment is reflected by their movement through it.

2.3 A success at exhausting a place in my mind

2.3.1 Georges Perec: An Attempt at Exhausting a Place in Paris

Over three successive days in 1974, Georges Perec wrote about his visitations to Saint-Sulpice in Paris. There is an abundance of notable things in this place - namely the church of Saint-Sulpice - which are already well documented. Perec's intention, however, was not to highlight what has previously been recorded, but to observe and identify everything that would normally go unnoticed - "that which has no importance" (Perec, 1974, p. 3). A pattern of various viewpoints is explored, and near enough repeated each day to maintain an objective documentation. This strict routine presents repetitive recounts, emphasising the constant occurrences of buses, taxis and cars, with their slight variation but overall predictability. The same could be said for the description of individuals, though the appearance and action of locals diversifies resulting in changes of language. The social description spans beyond the local as Perec analyses the presence of tourists, writing about them more like he would if they were inanimate objects. The uniformity of their actions is stated like the observation of each bus passing; in a menial and somewhat painstaking tone: "a bus, empty. Some Japanese, in another bus" (Perec, 1974, p. 9).

2.3.1.1 an attempt at exhausting a roundabout in southeast London

Date: Tuesday 14th January 2025

Time: 11:10am

Location: Bricklayers Arms Roundabout

Weather: Dry cold, no clouds and bright sun

Outline of visual and occasional audible experiences over a 30-minute period:

  • A man, dressed in all black, watches me start taking notes
  • Two sirens coincide
  • A woman waits to cross the road with a pushchair
  • 172 bus to Brockley Rise
  • 188 to Tottenham Court Road
  • 21 to Holloway
  • Another siren
  • 453 to Marylebone
  • Black car, black car, white van
  • Man in tracksuit passes cyclist with balaclava
  • Four white vans in unison
  • Ambulance is followed by highway maintenance van
  • Six chairs, five vacant, one taken by me
  • 63 to Kings Cross
  • Police van completes full loop of roundabout
  • 415 to Old Kent Road Tesco sporting a large Sainsbury's advertisement
  • Two-person moped, driver wearing JustEat raincoat
  • Learner bus followed by 21 to Holloway
  • 363 to Crystal Palace goes over bypass
  • Scaffolder shouts at motorcyclist from van window
  • "SMT" graffitied three times, sandwiching a larger "10FOOT"
  • Woman struggles to walk straight in heels
  • Cargo bike with slogan "Absolutely!"
  • TFL van pulls onto roundabout centre, man in hi-vis steps out and proceeds to do nothing

Strictly language recount:

  • Transport for London
  • Highway Maintenance
  • Uniqlo Heat-tech
  • One dome - win £500
  • Home serve
  • Forefront
  • Guidelines
  • Elephant & Castle
  • Conway
  • Enterprise
  • Kingsmill
  • Direct link
  • Thames water
  • Openreach
  • Smith & Brock
  • For sale
  • Supreme care
  • Arsenal FC
  • Peter Green chilled
  • HSS hire
  • Prime
  • Police
  • Ambulance
  • London
  • Lime
  • Tower Bridge Road
  • Porters' pest control
  • Bellenden signs ltd

2.3.2 détournement

To once again refer back to the Situationist movement, I want to re-highlight the concept of détournement (1.2.3) as a method of visual appropriation. The idea directly opposes the traditional views of ownership and negates authorial figures. Instead, it proposes a greater depth of perception by resourcefully collecting pre-existing works and altering their visuality through various means.

2.3.3 an excuse for bias

Georges Perec's description of Saint-Sulpice is as objective as it can be, of course including elements of influence from place and time. However according to Roland Barthes, and as mentioned in section 2.2.2, no matter how straightforward and direct a piece of writing can be, there will always be personal bias evidenced by the choice of language, then furthered by the way it is interpreted by the reader. This ideology can be debated until the end of the earth - but the notion of détournement provides a middle ground, which I believe is to be exploited.

2.3.4 found words

Here I will use a rather lengthy quote from Ken Knabb's edited and translated version of Guy Debord's Situationist International Anthology: "Restricting oneself to a personal arrangement of words is mere convention. The mutual interference of two worlds of feeling, or the bringing together of two independent expressions, supersedes the original elements and produces a synthetic organisation of greater efficacy. Anything can be used." (Debord, 1956, p. 9). In essence, pre-existing language and text is available to better express oneself - to demonstrate a situated understanding. Does the method of combining of words and phrases, as opposed to writing everything yourself, diminish the intellect your intellect? Or can it simply be viewed as means to expand vocabulary and language skills?

2.4 It's all about me

2.4.1 been here doing that

Over the past four months I have been experimenting with these theories and concepts to explore their potential visuality - adopting a (much tamer) mindset and lifestyle of a Situationist. Coming at a time in which I have moved to a new area of London, going on various dérive-style walks has helped me understand the space in a way no geolocational service could. Through various graphic techniques of printing, I have worked to develop a visual language that can prove my psychogeographic comprehension and tendencies. The process, I have since found, began to negate my pragmatic intentions of serving as universally understood design - resulting in a far more abstract pathway. In all (rather embarrassing) honesty, my lack of reading practice has made it difficult to grasp certain philosophical ideologies; I find the general academic writing style, as seen in the majority of concept-based papers, challenging and hard to make sense of. A crucial idea was born out of this though, I spent a long time reading dense texts and highlighting the language I found to be genuinely useful - the rest I physically cut out, leaving gaps scattered over a page of wording.

Figure 3: Subverted Anthology

2.4.2 fifty of a hundred

Extracting sections of text that I felt were unnecessary was simply a means to an end in order to better my understanding. I found myself left with a body of discarded language that was greater than what had been left in - a bank of words, phrases and the occasional paragraph, proving a relative uselessness not only within my research, but breaching my capability of comprehension. The realisation of such impractical wording allowed for a release of its context. Detached from the framework of which it was originally conceived, I felt an ability to view the structure of text forming a moderately abstract visual language in itself; it was clear what had been acknowledged and what hadn't. In order to extend this idea, I put myself at the forefront of authorship, writing a 100-word statement about my enquiry and asking other people to highlight 50 of those words - eventually extracting what hadn't been highlighted. From the (roughly 30) responses, I could gauge the aspects of my writing that were clear and concise as well as what wasn't so much, somewhat as expected. Although they were all the same words, no two reactions were the same, making for a pleasing visuality in which the tiresome repetitive nature was slightly evaded.

Figure 4: Fifty of A Hundred

2.4.3 call me a philosopher

What started as a negation of laborious academic language gradually became a metaphorical subversion of theories I had been researching. Again, the extraction of text was a primary process leaving other graphic methods out. In essence, my intentions as a designer at this point was to 'undesign', exposing a skeleton of language which subverts traditional reading. Using a combination of my writing - in the form of early dissertation drafts - and excerpts from various established authors, I began to challenge authorial figures. If the formulation of text is what considers authorship, then I felt I was doing the same thing - just with words from other people. It's not exactly as if I was chasing credibility for the works of philosophers and writers alike, I merely borrowed the language they used to construct something that is arguably not text, but a visual reconstruction. A journey of reading process in which context plays little to no part.

2.4.4 call me a poet

I have recently found my reading habits, or perhaps more appropriately my lack of reading habits, have encouraged an interest in poetry. It should come as no surprise that the practicality of short written compositions makes the formulaic process of reading more accessible. In theory, the same could be said about writing poetry, though my vocabulary and writing skills have often made it difficult - again likely associated with aversions towards reading. Methods of subversion and written appropriation that have already been established in my work has shown to be a way to formulate language structures I may not have been able to do beforehand. Rather than extracting from pre-existing texts though, selecting words from my dissertation drafts put me in the position of both the author and the subverter. Using physical cut-outs of text, I have been able to create my own versions of poems. Not only does this make for an elaboration of written content, but it also serves as means to translate theoretical practices into visual forms. As well as this, and again incorporating an interactive element to my work, inviting others to construct their own poetic versions develops a post-structuralist configuration of language - and as such, proves there is no objective meaning to text, requiring a personal navigation through the written form.

Final overview

A landscape designed, built and inhabited by humans, the identity and representation of the city conceals a never-ending flow of social currents. On the outside, the promise of opportunity is presented with great grandeur, though to achieve full access and ownership, one must take a more abstract approach. A recognition of the humble nuances of urban space forms a relationship that is wholly individual. Therefore, this existence provokes a process of understanding which is entirely unique, shaping the interpretation and navigation of every single entity.

Finally, to match the candour of my final few sections, I find great difficulties in understanding the tone and writing style of theorists and philosophers. Having said this, I want to stress the development of my conceptual comprehension throughout writing this paper. Of course, it has aided the process of discussing various themes, but perhaps more importantly it has inspired a more expansive perception in my everyday life.

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